Thumb Actions In Scales And For Big Sounds

I've finally got around to doing most of the videos for the post on thumbs (that I'd actually completed the writing for ages ago). I'd be interested in any views from anyone. Most of the exercises have a good deal in common with the basic principle of Alan's thumb push-up. It's designed to build up to seriously extreme use of thumb activity, without compression.

I've just read through and will be experimenting with your ideas over the next few days. I think the idea of thinking up rather than down is very significant. The same principle crops up in the Alexander Technique (called 'thinking up'), which is about directing ourselves upwards even during movements in which we lower ourselves in space (picking up something off the floor, sitting down etc.).

Yeah, I actually wrote a whole post about the mechanics of the up principlse some time ago, but deliberately held it back- due to wanting to get something more immediately related to playing. I'll try to get it posted soon now. It's not that's it's unrelated to playing by any means- but it goes deeper into the background issues of efficiency and why some actions tend to be stiffer or more wasteful etc. It's pretty easy to understand why pushing away would make for less impact/compression but I also want to clarify why it can also improve energy transfer in a huge way. I've found that exploring these issues has made me a lot better at noticing holes in my movements and knowing how to set about improving them. Also, you might find this post interesting: It's very much like that Alexander technique idea of thinking up as you go down, but basically involves taking any direction of movement and also thinking of what goes on in the opposite direction. The idea of thinking in forces (more than about the movement itself) might seem rather dry and academic, at first glance, but I've found that the ease of many movements and states of balance can be improved by this. My ability to carry heavy shopping without doing all kinds of bizarre things in my shoulder has probably been the biggest improvement of all! I'd be interested to know what you think, from an Alexander technique perspective.

Yeah, I actually wrote a whole post about the mechanics of the up principlse some time ago, but deliberately held it back- due to wanting to get something more immediately related to playing. I'll try to get it posted soon now. It's not that's it's unrelated to playing by any means- but it goes deeper into the background issues of efficiency and why some actions tend to be stiffer or more wasteful etc. It's pretty easy to understand why pushing away would make for less impact/compression but I also want to clarify why it can also improve energy transfer in a huge way. I've found that exploring these issues has made me a lot better at noticing holes in my movements and knowing how to set about improving them. Also, you might find this post interesting: I like the principles that you set forth. Looking at a movement from more than one angle allows us to avoid falling into our habitual way of doing things. I agree that these different approaches to the same movement should not stay separate, but should become part of the unified whole - allowing an expansion of awareness. It's very much like that Alexander technique idea of thinking up as you go down, but basically involves taking any direction of movement and also thinking of what goes on in the opposite direction. The idea of thinking in forces (more than about the movement itself) might seem rather dry and academic, at first glance, but I've found that the ease of many movements and states of balance can be improved by this. My ability to carry heavy shopping without doing all kinds of bizarre things in my shoulder has probably been the biggest improvement of all! I'd be interested to know what you think, from an Alexander technique perspective. Interesting - one of the straps on my guitar case broke recently, so I've had to carry it around by the handle, rather than on my back. It does get much easier once you stop trying to pull the weight up and let it act on you, instead. Just for clarity, 'thinking up' in the Alexander Technique is something that is done with movement in any direction (even upwards!). I think your ideas do fit in with the Alexandrian 'means-whereby' principle (as opposed to 'end gaining') - the concept that how we do something is more important than the end result of what we are doing. It's interesting that you mention walking in that blog post. I currently perceive walking as more of a leaning forwards and allowing the legs to carry me rather than of an active doing. Of course, there is some activation involved, but if you transfer your weight to one leg, a reflex will kick in that bends the other leg at the knee, thus reducing the effort needed to move the leg that is taking a step. Pivoting the body forward as one unit from the ankle allows the rest of the step to take place (with a slight lifting and movement forward of the leg that is taking the step). It's entirely possible my perception will change in a few months time though.

Yeah- this is one place where I'm not so keen on an up idea. Specifically, I tend to think of this as an interaction between outwards force and inward force. Obviously anything held out will want to swing your arm inwards towards your body. In the past, I would either lock things upwards, or I'd slump my shoulder right into my body. These days, I feel exactly where the bag wants to more, and try to match that force exactly. Bizarre as it might sound, I've even found it valuable to feel I'm actively straightening my arm out sometimes- even though the bag is already pulling that way. My habits of bracing the arm into a fixed and bunched up position were so strong before, that it sometimes helps to extend out willfully- and then just feel the interaction between an outwards action at the shoulder and the inward pull caused by gravity. I think actually transfers very well to the means of supporting the arm in piano playing too. Yeah, fair point. I certainly don't wish to exclude additional options. In some ways, I think what I describe makes some muscles work rather harder. I've found what I describe has been very useful in improving laziness of certain parts. I didn't use the ground to propel myself much before, but dragged things across more. My right hip still tends to collapse slightly though, rather lift me up properly. However, making things more active with different perspectives has led to an easier way of just doing it. Recently, I've also been relating a similar principle to that of the finger extension actions. If you just feel that the ground gets in the way of an extension of the whole leg (rather than a pull of the leg) it seems to work rather well at getting everything right up- rather than stuck in the middle.

Just published that post on efficiency issues: I think the theories here make a lot of sense out of why relaxation methods can have a lot of value, yet tremendous limitations. The whole focus on tension/relaxation totally misses the genuinely important interplay between positive and negative directions of movement, when striving to accelerate something.